Talking People, RIM Blackberry Insight Bank

Greene was lead researcher and designer for the ‘Talking People: Reshaping Community and Communication (2011), a partnership with RIM, which resulted in an insight bank as its main outcome. The research took place on two high streets, distinguished in terms of demographics, income and ethnicity. The study identified a digital divide between online and offline users within these areas and explored how these parallel communities might be brought together through concepts such as a digital community noticeboard. The research built on an existing relationship with RIM and projects such as Seamless Mobility (2008) and Alternative View (2009), which looked at inclusivity and technology use by means of methodologies such as design provocations and informal interviews. This digital platform shares insights, providing a new way to facilitate knowledge transfer of research within organisations. Designers at RIM could explore the insight bank, using keywords, with the aim of grounding their work in real-life scenarios. It led to ways of understanding how people with different needs and abilities use RIM devices and interfaces. The insight bank included exemplar concepts demonstrating potential applications for shared community media devices. It was accompanied by a month-long student project and curated exhibition ‘Talking People’ (UK, 2011). The significance of this project was that it was a precursor to the AHRC/EPSRC-funded Media, Community and the Creative Citizen project awarded to the University of Cardiff (£1.4m, 2012–14) and for which Greene is a co-investigator. Greene’s Talking People project helped to form the agenda for the eventual collaborative research proposal. Greene’s interest in people’s relationship with technology also led to her work on the Mobile Working Lives design research project (funded by Samsung Design Europe, 2012).